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Sri Lanka: End impunity for attacks on Muslim minority

6 March 2018, 11:47 UTC

The Sri Lankan authorities must take action against those responsible for attacks on the country’s Muslim minority, Amnesty International said.

On 5 March, a mob set homes, shops and a mosque belonging to the local Muslim community ablaze in the Digana area of Kandy, in central Sri Lanka. This was the second serious incident of violence against a Muslim community in the country over the past week, following a chillingly similar attack in the eastern coastal district of Ampara on 26 February. Although several individuals have now been arrested for involvement in these recent attacks, impunity persists for previous incidents of violence against Muslim minority communities.

“The Sri Lankan authorities must put an end to the impunity enjoyed by groups that incite hatred and carry out acts of violence against religious minorities. They have a duty to protect vulnerable groups and hold the perpetrators accountable,” said Dinushika Dissanayake, Amnesty International’s Deputy South Asia Director.

“The failure to hold to take action against these groups has only emboldened them further and plunged minorities in a deeper state of fear. This is not the first time such horrors have been visited upon the country’s Muslim minority. The scenes of the past week recall the attacks in Aluthgama, four years ago, showing how little has been done since then.”